To This End
by Stelena-Beautiful
Summary: AU Stelena... Elena has tried so hard to move on with her life, to pick up the pieces of a shattered dream. And yet, she can't help but feel that somehow, someway, he's out there, watching out for her and their children, desperately wanting to come home to them.
1. Preface

**To This End**

_**My first full-length Stelena fic. It is AU. Eventually there will be vampires in this, but not quite yet! lol I hope it turns out alright. Although it will be angsty at times, true, I hope it's a different kind of angst than what Julie Plec writes – the kind of angst that forces a couple to work through their problems **__**together**__**… I just thought us SE fans could all use an escape from the utter heartbreak known as Season 4 of The Vampire Diaries.**_

**Preface**

_He was having the nightmare again._

His hands clawed at the bed sheets as his body spasmed on the mattress, the intensity of the images reverberating in his head causing him to writhe and moan in his sleep. Even after all this time, he could still smell the smoke; hear the sirens and the screams.

It had all happened so quickly. He had been on the phone, just chatting with his sister-in-law, promising her that he'd bring the family 'round again very soon. The house was quiet. His kids had been tucked into their beds and his wife was asleep upstairs, having given into exhaustion after a long day of chasing around twin toddlers and nursing a little infant too. He had wanted to stay home that day and help her out but his paternal leave was over and she had insisted that like it or not, he had to go to work. She had said that his students at the university needed him too. _Selfless._ That's what she was though she would always deny it.

He had just put down the phone when suddenly the whole place seemed to be engulfed in flames. The fire was everywhere, spreading fast, and he couldn't begin to guess where or how it had begun. He didn't have that luxury of time to try to figure that out. Adrenaline coursed through his veins as he immediately ducked low and ran for the staircase. The wood banister was beginning to lick with flames already and he knew he'd have to move quickly.

He was screaming her name. Screaming for his children too. He vaulted up the stairs, taking three steps at a time as he ran down the hallway. The whole of upstairs was nearly swallowed up in smoke and he coughed loudly even as he heard panicked crying from the nursery. He ran for the nursery first and threw open the door, gathering his little boy into his arms, tucking the infant's little wrinkly forehead into the fabric of his shirt. He then ran to the next room. The twins' room. They were awake and shaking in their little beds. He told them as calmly as he could to stand up and follow him to their mother's room. He was panicked, not knowing why she wasn't replying, why he hadn't heard a peep from her thus far. He pushed open the door and saw the room was alight in flames. He screamed her name. Through the haze of smoke he thought he saw a shadowy figure standing over his wife's bed but it had to be a mirage. His eyes watered both from the smoke and from the intensity of his emotions. The air was so thick and threatened to sever his ability to breathe.

"Baby, wake up!" he cried. He ended up settling the little infant in the hallway with the twins and then he ran for the bed. She was finally arousing. Her eyes went wide when she saw the whole room was on fire.

"Ohmigod!" She screamed and struggled to kick back her covers. He helped her out of the bed and hugged her for the briefest moment. "What is happening?"

"I don't know," he answered and led her through the room and out into the hall.

"We have to get out of here," she cried but she could see as well as he could that the staircase was completely gone into the flames now. The only area not aflame yet was the back room – the guest room. The room with the balcony.

He settled the screaming infant into his wife's slender arms and took each twin by the hand, running with them for safety. "What are we going to do?" His wife asked. "Oh god."

He struggled with an all-consuming sense of inertia. How was he going to get them all out of here in one piece?

"The bed sheets!" He finally said. "We'll tie them together and I'll lower you all down."

She nodded and together, they made quick work of tying the sheets together. In the distance they could hear sirens but they didn't sound nearly close enough.

"Hold on tight," he told the twins and they screamed loudly as he lowered them from the precipice. He wife and youngest child were to be next.

Tears were pouring from her eyes as he wrapped the sheet around her and the baby as snuggly as he could.

A heavy beam came crashing down from the ceiling, only missing them by two centimeters. They _both _screamed this time.

He practically shoved her towards the balcony. "Hurry!" he bellowed.

"I can't leave you. I can't. Don't ask me to!"

"You _have_ to. I promise to come down right after you. Hurry!" he shouted again. He then pressed his lips urgently to hers. If this was the last kiss they ever shared, he wanted to die with the taste of her on his lips.

She was sobbing as she kissed him back and then moved to the ledge. "I love you, Stefan," she screamed. "Come back to me."

"_I will love you forever, Elena, forever…"_

XOxOxO

He sat bolt upright in bed, gasping for air, her name tearing from his lips. He had sweat clean through his night clothes and tears stained his face. He wished every time that this was just a nightmare but it wasn't.

It was the bitterest of memories.

He had not only lost his own life that day; he had lost his whole reason for being. Elena and his children were a part of a world that he did not belong to anymore. _The mortal world._

"I love you, Elena," he whispered as more tears came. "Forever…."


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"_Dear Diary today will be different. It has to be. I will smile, and it will be believable. My smile will say 'I'm fine, thank you. Yes, I feel much better.' I will no longer be the sad woman who lost the love of her life. I will start fresh, be someone new. It's the only way I'll make it through."_

Elena sighed as she shoved aside her journal and tucked it into the bedside drawer. She hoped she could keep her resolution today not to look like the broken woman she was. It had been nearly six years after all. It was time to move on and start living for – if not for herself – her children. They deserved better than a sad, pathetic woman for a mother; one hanging onto the past. But God,_ God _did she ever miss him. Every moment without him was like …

She shook her head. She couldn't go there. _She wouldn't go there._ Today was a new beginning. Her new start. She was going to embrace every opportunity; live for every moment because she knew better than anyone that it could be gone all too soon.

She shoved aside her covers and decided she would take a shower. The best way to start the day was to wash away the pain of the past.

Still, as she stood under the hot spray, she felt tears burn her eyes. She needed just one more cry; just one more moment to give into her feelings. She began to sob, covering her mouth to help drown out the sounds of her overflowing emotions. She leaned her damp forehead against the shower wall and cried. She cried until the water had run cold and she had no choice but to climb out and paste on a smile that said she was okay. Even if it was a lie, she knew she had to move on. Somehow, someway.

She toweled dry and brushed her teeth, avoiding looking into the mirror. She knew all too well that she looked like crap. She had seen the bags under her eyes that had been there for years now; she knew her eyes themselves would be red and bloodshot. She had lost ten pounds too; pounds Bonnie claimed she couldn't afford to shed. She was a skeleton, inside and out. Hollow as could be.

"Nope, Elena," she whispered after she had rinsed her mouth out. "Not doing this today or anymore. Time to move on. He's never coming back. Just accept that."

How those words hurt her though! The thoughts alone were crippling.

She walked slowly back into her room and pulled on a pair of denim jeans, size two, and still too baggy on her. She slipped on a tee-shirt next. A bright, cherry red tee-shirt that people would see a mile away but that said _"I'm okay, see? I'm okay. See I'm not wearing black anymore. I'm not mourning; I'm not falling apart." _At least, that's what she hoped it said.

She had just slipped on her shoes when the door came hurtling open. She smiled as brightly as she could as her youngest son Tristan came running into the room. He immediately locked his arms around his mom, giving her a fierce hug. He looked so much like his father. He had the same brilliant forest green eyes; the same shade of brown was in his hair; he had the same classically sculpted, impossibly high cheek bones. He, of all her children, was the most like Stefan too. Quiet, thoughtful, resourceful… _soulful._

"Hey, sweetheart," Elena said, forcing herself once again not to cry. "Ready for school?"

"But I'm scared," Tristan said.

"What are you scared of, baby?" Elena asked, reaching out and lightly ruffling his hair.

"There was a monster in my room last night," Tristan whispered as tears glistened in his eyes.

Elena felt a chill zip down her spine but she couldn't begin to explain why. Obviously it was just a nightmare. "It was a bad dream, baby," she said.

Tristan shook his head. "It was real. They had long, pointy teeth and there was blood … all over their face."

Elena's eyes widened. "Has Ricky been filling your head again with thoughts of scary stuff?" Her oldest son Ricky liked creepy things and very much enjoyed terrifying her other two children with blood and guts-type stories. Elena sometimes referred to him as "Little D" because he took after his uncle Damon so much – in both appearance and attitude.

Tristan shook his head. "No. He stopped when you told him to."

Elena tussled her son's hair again and gave him a kiss on his cheek. "Well I swear it was just a bad dream. There are no such thing as monsters." She gave him the brightest smile she could. "Now what do you say we head downstairs and help your Aunt Bonnie fix breakfast?"

Tristan shrugged and she could see that he was really upset but she wasn't sure how else to assuage his fears. "Come on, kiddo," Elena said, grasping his hand. "Let's go make a big mess in the kitchen."

XoXoXo

Elena, Bonnie and the kids had just settled at the table with their pancakes when Damon walked into the room, rubbing sleep from his eyes. He was already dressed in jeans and his standard black shirt, covered by his leather jacket.

"Good morning, 'lil fam," he said as he took his standard seat at the head of the table, right beside his wife. He pressed a quick kiss to her cheek and looked at the spread. "Wow, there's enough here to feed a really _big _army. What's the occasion? Is it someone's birthday and I forgot?" He feigned embarrassment.

"Not mine," Ricky said. "I wish cause I saw some really cool Monster High toys at the store!"

"Not mine either," Ricky's twin sister Emme said as she looked at her uncle through thick lenses. She hated that she had to wear glasses. They were the bane of her existence actually.

"No more monster stuff please," Elena spoke up. "Seriously."

"Aww, Mommy, why?" Ricky pouted.

"Well, wouldn't you rather play Guitar Hero or have a Mr. Potatohead?"

"No way. Mr. Potatoheads are for babies!"

"Well the monster stuff is scaring your siblings so, no more. Not now anyway."

Ricky openly pouted but Damon chucked him under the chin. "Come on. Guitar Hero is fun as heck. I bet I can beat you with both hands tied behind my back."

"How will you play the guitar then?" Ricky asked pointedly.

"I've got my toes!" Damon said with a smirk. This caused everyone to laugh and lightened_ some_ of the tension at the table.

XoXoXo

After breakfast, Elena kissed and hugged her children and sent them off to school with Damon. She then began washing the dishes.

"You don't have to do that," Bonnie said as she walked into the kitchen.

"I'm not about to let a pregnant woman do slave labor," Elena said, offering her friend a knowing smile.

"Ohmigod! How did you know?"

"You've been green around the gills lately; you looked at the pancakes like they were your worst enemy, and you've been sort of well, moody."

Bonnie smiled. "Sorry about that."

"It's okay. I remember when I was pregnant with the twins, Stefan said –" She broke off, swallowing over the lump in her throat and went back to vigorously scraping at a china plate. "Never mind."

"It's okay, you know. To talk about him," Bonnie said, rubbing her best friend's back.

Elena shook her head. "I can't. If I start talking about him, I'm going to cry and I just can't cry anymore. I want to move on." She sighed. "Anyway, does Damon know about the baby?"

Bonnie shook her head. "Not yet. I have to think of the perfect way to tell him."

"Does he suspect? Stefan –" She sighed. "There I go again … But does Damon have any idea?"

"I think he has noticed something's different but you know most men aren't that perceptive." Bonnie smiled. "I can't believe that we used to hate each other so much and now we're having a baby!"

"You fell in love with him. Petulant and stubborn as he can be."

Bonnie nodded. "It's a good thing we fell in love because I would not want to have a baby with someone I hate."

"I wouldn't either."

Just then the screen door banged back on its hinges, making Elena jump. She and Bonnie looked up to see their other best friend Caroline Forbes come hurrying into the kitchen. "Good morning!" Caroline chirped. She moved over to them and kissed each of their cheeks.

Elena looked at Bonnie suspiciously. "Someone's really happy today."

"Of course. I'm young, I'm beautiful and I'm in love," Caroline said as she leaned against the counter.

"You and Tyler…"

"Of course, Bonnie! Who else?" Caroline asked. "I just wish everyone could feel the way I feel." She looked at Elena pointedly and Elena squirmed instinctively under her penetrating gaze.

"Elena, Elena, my friend, you'll never believe what I heard… Nice tee-shirt by the way." She sensed sarcasm in the latter part of Caroline's statement. She was a fashionista by nature and of course a blood-red tee-shirt wouldn't appeal to her. But Elena still hoped that it said what it needed to say.

"What did you hear?" Bonnie asked. "Something good I hope."

"Something _really _good," Caroline enthused. "I hear that a certain pro football player from our class is back in town."

Elena sighed. She knew where this was going and she didn't like it.

"Matt?" Bonnie asked. "Really? I never thought he would return to little Mystic Falls after making the 'big time'."

"He's here because … well, it was something about his rotator cup, whatever that is. He will be here for the rest of season so you know what that means, Elena."

"I think I do…"

"Well he's single again after breaking up with some Charger girl and you're single so-"

Elena glared at her friend. "No, Caroline. I appreciate what you're trying to do but N-O."

"Elena, come on. He was always so sprung on you. He'd jump at the chance to take you out. In fact, I am having Tyler arrange a date for you two right now!"

Bonnie sighed. "Oh boy."

Elena shook her head. "Caroline, you didn't! You know I'm not ready to –"

"Move on?" Caroline asked. "Elena, you have to. It's been six years!"

"Almost six years," Elena said lamely.

Caroline waved her hand. "Close enough. That's a lifetime. You need to move on, Elena. You need to smile again and I happen to think going out with a man, even if it's not Matt, would be really good for you – _and_ your complexion."

Elena felt her throat tighten up and she knew she might cry but she held it back. "I still love my husband."

"He's gone, Elena, I hate to tell you that because I know it sounds cruel, but he's gone. And you need a life. You need a good man who can make you happy and maybe that's Matt."

"I don't think so," Elena said. "I get you're in love and want the whole world to be as well but –"

"But nothing, Elena. Its time. It's time to embrace your future and stop living in the past. Don't you get tired of living in Bonnie and Damon's house instead of having a place of your own, living with a great man who can cuddle with you and make you smile. That's what this is about – I want to see you smile again."

"Bonnie, tell Caroline that I'm not interested."

Bonnie withered a bit under Elena's gaze. "Well, you could do a lot worse than Matt. I mean –"

"Bonnie! You think I should just move on too, don't you?"

"I just want you to be happy."

Elena sighed and turned back to face the sink, bracing her hands on the Formica counter. "I don't know if I can do this."

"We will help you. We'll be there every step of the way, Elena," Caroline said. "Please. Just one date. Well, it doesn't have to be an actual one-on-one date. It can just be a get-together. We can all go in a group. Tyler and me, Bonnie and Damon, you and –"

"Matt," Elena said. "He was always a great guy but I'm still not sure."

"You're scared. Scared you could be happy again," Caroline said.

"I could never love anyone the way I love Stefan."

"You don't have to but he's gone, Elena, you can't keep holding onto hope that he's coming back when we all know that will never happen."

Elena sighed. "Okay, fine, whatever. As long as you two are there, I guess I can get through it. I have to. I promised myself I would take every new opportunity that presented itself so …"

"Yay!" Caroline said. "We're all going to have so much fun!"

Elena nodded. "That's the idea, I guess."

_**A/N: I hope that this chapter was okay. Stefan and Elena will be interacting again very soon so no worries. Also, I am going to pair Klaus and Caroline in this eventually so non-Forwood fans should be happy. Thanks for reading, Stelena fans!**_


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"_Elena, you are so incredibly beautiful, especially standing here today, looking at me with so much warmth in those gorgeous eyes of yours… I fell in love with those eyes and the woman you were and are the first day I saw you. Love at first sight is such a trite phrase but I knew that I was yours mind, body, and soul the moment I saw you standing there in the high school cafeteria. That was the best day of my life save for the day you told me you loved me too, and today. Today is the day all of our dreams come true, Elena. The day we marry and move forward, united, together always. I am going to spend the rest of my life trying to make you happy. I will never hurt you; I will never make you doubt my love. I'm yours … forever, if you'll have me."_

_She nodded, tears pooling in her eyes. She squeezed his hands as hard as she could to stabilize the shaking in hers. "I will, Stefan. I will. You're everything to me and maybe love at first sight __is__ a trite phrase but you know what? Its exists because I knew the moment that I first saw you that I loved you too. It took a while for us to get to this place but we're here – at the hour of our greatest happiness. I fall more in love with you every day and it's the best feeling in the whole world. Thank you for making me your wife today and thank you for being the greatest man I know … and my best friend. I don't want to be in a world you're not a part of. You amaze me and I love you."_

_Stefan smiled brilliantly at her and she so longed to kiss him right then and there but she had to wait a moment longer. The priest was saying it was time for the exchanging of the rings. Elena slid Stefan's onto his hand and tears were on her cheeks as she repeated after the Father._

"_I, Elena, take you Stefan, to be my husband, my partner in life and my one true love. I will cherish our friendship and love you today, tomorrow, and forever. I will trust you and honor you. I will laugh with you and cry with you. I will love you faithfully through the best and the worst, through the difficult and the easy. Come what may, I will always be there. As I have given you my hand to hold so I give you my life to keep, so help me Lord."_

_Stefan had tears in his eyes too as he slowly, gently, slid her golden band onto her finger. __"I, Stefan, take you Elena to be my wife, my partner in life and my one true love. I will cherish our friendship and love you today, tomorrow, and forever. I will trust you and honor you. I will laugh with you and cry with you. I will love you faithfully through the best and the worst, through the difficult and the easy. Come what may, I will always be there. As I have given you my hand to hold so I give you my life to keep, so help me Lord."_

_The priest smiled at them approvingly. "Now comes the most anticipated part… What God hath joined together, let no man put asunder." He looked at Stefan. "Now need I say the next part… You may kiss your bride."_

"_I've been waiting for that," Stefan said and immediately pulled Elena into his arms, crushing his lips to hers in a kiss that went on a long time but yet not long enough somehow. She could never get enough of his kisses, or him, period._

_As applause erupted in the garden, Stefan whispered in her ear. "Forever, Elena, that's how long our happily ever after is going to last…"  
_

Elena felt her eyes burn with unshed tears as she stood in her room, remembering her and Stefan's wedding day. He had promised her forever. Dammit he had actually dared to promise her forever and he had lied.

She picked up the closest thing to her – her arm clock – and hurled it across the room just as the door opened. She nearly clipped Bonnie with it and her mouth fell open in a gasp. "Ohmigod. I'm so sorry!" she cried. "Did it hit you?"

Bonnie shook her head. "No, it missed me by a whole _centimeter."_ She moved inside the room and shut the door. "You don't look so good."

"I know…"

"Are you second-guessing your decision to go out with all of us tonight?" Bonnie asked, as she sat on the edge of the bed.

"No. Yes. Maybe?" Elena said. "Are you sure I'm not –"

"Betraying Stefan?" Bonnie asked, somehow knowing what Elena was going to say. "No, you're not, Elena, honestly you're not. I knew Stefan well – of course not as well as you – and I know that he'd never begrudge you happiness."

"I'm scared to move on. I'm so scared. Sometimes I think I am forgetting the exact shade of his skin and the taste of his lips and the sound of his voice … It's so freaking upsetting!"

Bonnie reached for Elena but Elena pulled free. "No, no its okay. No more pity parties. Stefan and I are over. Even if sometimes, you know, I feel like he's there, watching out for us. Dumb, huh?"

"Not at all."

"Sometimes I can feel him so strong and other times … I can't feel him at all and it hurts so bad. It hurts …" Elena sighed, fighting off the ever-present need to cry. "Anyway, I am doing this. I'm going to go out tonight and I'm going to enjoy myself even if it kills me."

Bonnie sighed. "Don't say that."

"It's how I feel… Now, Bon, can you help me pick out something to wear? Something that doesn't scream 'desperate grieving widow'."

"You're way, way too hard on yourself, you know that?" Bonnie said, even as she stood and moved over to the closet. She pulled down a silky purple dress. "This is nice."

"Is it too desperate?"

"No way."

"Then that's it then. Thanks, Bonnie," Elena said and gave her best friend a fierce hug. "I'll just get dressed and be right down so we can get on the road to the Grill."

"We're not going to the Grill."

"We're not?"

"No. We're driving to the next town over to eat at a place called Mimi's. Despite the corny name, it's really classy and Caroline says it has 'ambiance'."

"Okay …" Elena forced a smile. "Well, this is it."

"Yep it is," Bonnie said. "And just know if you need a moment there to collect your thoughts, we will give it to you. No questions asked."

"Okay… Thanks."

"You're welcome."

XoXoXo

"Elena, stop doing the potty dance," Caroline chastised her as they stood in the waiting area of the restaurant. It was indeed much fancier than the Grill with its low lighting, blood red authentic leather-seated booths and a huge chandelier that was suspended from the low ceiling.

Elena turned to look at her friend who was dressed to the nines in a bright red cocktail dress. "What are you talking about?"

"You're moving all around like you either have to go to the bathroom or have ants in your panties. Calm down. It's just a group thing."

"I'm nervous…"

"Its Matt Donovan from the block. You have zero to be nervous about." Caroline looked towards the door where Matt and Tyler were sauntering in, wearing black suits and ties. "They're here. Now smile!"

Caroline practically tackled Tyler with a hug and gave Matt a quick kiss on the cheek before turning to face Elena. "She's here, Matt. How great does she look?" Caroline enthused.

Matt smiled appreciatively. "She looks great." He addressed Elena this time. "Elena, you look wonderful."

Elena blushed. "It's got to be the lighting…"

"Don't sell yourself short. You were always a knock out," Matt said. He approached her slowly. "Can I give you a 'hello' hug?"

Elena forced a smile. "Is that different than a regular hug?"

"Yeah, its means 'hi; I've missed you, how are you doing?' Matt said.

"Then yes," Elena said and nervously held out her slender arms, accepting Matt's warm embrace. Despite the heat of his touch, she still felt chilled all over. This night was going to be hell. Why had she agreed to come at all?

"There are Bonnie and Damon!" Caroline said as the couple approached them. "Did you get the table for six?"

Damon nodded. "We did." He peered at Matt. "Is that you, buddy? The years haven't been all that kind, have they?"

Matt shook his head. "Same old Damon."

"Damn right," Damon said. "Now can we order? I could eat a whole elephant."

XoXoXo

They all sat down to the table. Caroline naturally maneuvered it so that Elena was sitting right beside Matt. Predictable but oh so Caroline of her, Elena mused.

She opened the menu just as she heard footsteps. Their waitress had arrived. "Hi all. I'm Aimee. I'll be your server tonight. Can I start you off with some drinks?"

Everyone asked for some kind of alcoholic beverage except Bonnie who just timidly said, "A Sprite please." Damon looked at his wife suspiciously and she said, "Well, someone has to drive us home."

The waitress Aimee wrote down their orders and then moved away. Immediately a potent silence descended on the table as everyone looked between Matt and Elena pointedly, totally putting them on the spot.

"So Elena," Matt said. "How have you been?"

"Fine. I'm fine," Elena lied.

Matt didn't seem to buy her answer. "Look I heard about Stefan actually and I want to officially say my condolences to you."

Elena nodded and looked away. "Thank you, Matt, its appreciated."

Silence fell again around the table and then Damon said, "So how about them Chargers?"

XoXoXo

Dinner arrived soon enough. Elena picked at her Greek salad, not feeling the least bit hungry. The conversation had picked up again and Caroline was drilling Matt about how long he'd be in Mystic Falls and when they could all arrange to do this, or that. She was doing most of the talking and Bonnie and Damon were at the end of the table, in their own world, it seemed. Elena's eyes kept moving back to them as they pressed their foreheads together and they whispered quietly to each other, smiling at each other and sharing their couple-y secrets. Elena remembered when she and Stefan had been just like that. Before the fire, they were always the sappy couple at the table whispering sweet-nothings to each other.

Caroline turned to Elena then and she tore her gaze from the lovebirds. "So, Elena, can you believe Matt bought that big house on the hill in town? It's got to be so lonely up there. It could use a good woman and some kids to fill all of its fifteen rooms."

Elena blushed. "That's nice," she murmured. She threw down her napkin then and stood on wobbly knees. "I uh, need to … just uh, I need to go out to the car. I think I forgot my wallet in there." She then scurried away before anyone could follow.

She did hear Bonnie say, _"Let her go, guys,"_ as she darted out of the restaurant.

She ran blindly through the parking lot to the SVU and collapsed against it in tears. She rested her forehead against the window and she cried, giving into the emotions she had promised herself that she wouldn't entertain. She was sobbing so hard that she didn't see anyone approach her. She didn't even know they were there until they were resting a hand on her heaving shoulder…

_**A/N: Wow is the person touching Elena actually Stefan or someone else? I'll keep you in suspense until the next chapter but it will be up soon. I will say Stefan is around there somewhere lol Thanks for all the reviews I've gotten on this story thus far. You have no idea how much I cherish them! You Stelena fans are the bestest.**_


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

She felt the hand on her shoulder and heard a masculine voice say, "Excuse me, Miss, I think you dropped this."

She swiped at her teary face with a shaky hand. Through watery eyes, she turned around to see a man with a shock of white blond hair watching her. In his fingers, he held a twenty dollar bill. Elena shook her head. "Uh, I don't think that's mine."

"Are you sure?" She nodded. "Okay well, then finders keepers," the man said, shoving it into the pocket of his baggy, torn jeans. He was wearing a tee-shirt that said _"Don't Worry I Don't Bite … Hard_". Elena felt the oddest sensation of fear being in his presence but she didn't know why. He seemed perfectly nice. Still, she started to sidestep him when he blocked her.

"Sorry. Couldn't help but notice that you look upset," the man said. His ice blue eyes glittered in the dark, hauntingly illuminated by the lamp-post above their heads. "Is everything okay?"

"It will be," Elena said and tried to sidestep him once more but he was blocking her again. "Excuse me… My friends are waiting for me inside."

"They can wait a bit longer," the man said and his faux-good humor act completely evaporated. His eyes took on a predatory, lascivious look and Elena shivered before trying to run.

He was immediately grabbing her and slamming her hand against the SVU, a hand over her mouth. Elena gasped and struggled as he locked his arms around her. She bit into his hand as hard as she could, drawing blood, and he hissed at her. _"Stupid bitch!"_ But he didn't let go. He had no intentions of doing that apparently, even as Elena bucked in his grasp and tried kicking him. He tightened his grip on her. He was a lot stronger than he looked. Still, Elena bit him yet again and rammed her fist into his solar plexus.

This time he let her go and she started running but it wasn't long before he was catching up to her and tackling her. Two more men were moving quickly over to her as well. She felt a sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach as all three men grabbed her and started dragging her towards the nearby woods. The whole time they were saying horrifying, awful things about exactly what they were going to do to her. Apparently they had been looking for a "good time" and they had found it.

Elena writhed violently as they carried her but one had her by the arms, another had her by the legs and the blond one was covering her mouth. She tried so hard to twist free but it was no use. She was not going to get away without help.

_Damon, Bonnie, anyone_, she thought. _Please come for me. Please. My kids, they need me. They need at least one of their parents. Someone help!_

They arrived all too soon in the center of the woods. They dropped her, hard, onto the ground and debated about how they were going to go about this. She looked up at them with pleading eyes. "Please, I have kids. I'll give you anything you want, just don't hurt me."

One of the other guys laughed. This one had horribly pock-marked skin. "Oh you'll give us exactly what we want and then we'll decide if you get to live."

Elena tried to scream again but one was slamming a hand roughly over her mouth and the other was holding her down by the arms. She was trying to struggle but it was impossible. She was about to be defiled in the worst way imaginable. She closed her eyes and prepared as best as she could for the inevitable.

XoXoXo

He could smell the scent of her fear as he soon as he had arrived in the woods. Seeing three men standing over _his_ Elena made his body thrum with ferocious anger and hatred. There would likely be consequences for showing himself tonight but he would risk it every time to save Elena.

He had been hiding in the shadows watching over her and their children for nearly six years now. Every time he had seen her cry, he had longed to reach out to her, but had never dared. Now he had no choice.

He immediately raced to the first man and sent him flying with such force, that the brute slammed into a nearby tree, his head making a resounding _slam!,_ and he was gone in an instant. The other two men released their hold on Elena and Stefan immediately charged after them. He grabbed the one with blond hair and slammed him to the ground, immediately ripping at his jugular vein with his teeth. The man whimpered as Stefan tore him apart until the sounds he was making died away completely.

The third man was running away and Stefan immediately took after him. He hadn't even gotten ten feet when Stefan was on his back, grabbing him by his long hair and yanking his head back so hard that the man screamed in agony before Stefan roughly snapped his neck like a twig.

All was suddenly silent in the woods and Stefan started to take off, even as the smell of blood was rich in his nostrils. He started to run when he heard his name whispered. _"Stefan."_ And then louder, _"Stefan!"_

XoXoXo

Elena's eyes remained shut until she sensed the presence of another and then felt the men who had been nearly atop her one by one release their hold on her. She heard their screams and she was afraid to open her eyes at first. Then slowly, she peeled them open, finding herself lying on the cold, hard ground still. She pulled herself to her feet quickly and started to run back to safety when she stopped, wondering what was going on. Who had saved her? She saw a figure in the distance taking care of the third man.

_A Good Samaritan,_ she thought as she watched him easily snap her final attacker's neck like a twig. She moved closer, somehow drawn to this person. As she neared them, she noted the color of his hair and the firm lines of his body, his towering height.

"_Stefan,"_ she whispered. And then louder, she said, _"Stefan!"_

New tears collected in her eyes. She would know him anywhere, absolutely anywhere. The idea that he was supposed to be dead didn't faze her. There were times anyway when she had felt sure that he was still out there somewhere and here he was.

He paused in his tracks though he looked appeared ready to bolt. He kept his back to her as she slowly approached him. His shoulders were rigidly straight and he wasn't looking at her.

"Stefan?" She cried. "Stefan, please turn around."

XoXoXo

He wanted to turn around, more than anything, but the blood on this teeth and tongue had awakened his insatiable hunger. If Elena came too close, he was going to grab her and drink from her, knowing he wouldn't be able to stop. The scent of her blood was intoxicating. He was so close to losing himself in blood lust. He could tear her apart so easily. He wanted her blood.

Somehow in the back of his mind, he heard a voice telling him not to hurt her. _Don't hurt her,_ his inner voice screamed at him now.

He knew he had to go. He took off running. He heard her calling to him as she immediately gave chase but he was quicker. His legs pumped powerfully as he sprinted through the trees. At some point, he felt rather than heard or saw her take a tumble. He heard her hit the ground hard and he wanted to go back and help her up but knew he couldn't take the chance. If he did, he was going to give into his need to drink from her and he knew he wouldn't be able to stop until she was dead.

So even as he heard her crying and screaming, he kept running. He had no choice. Protecting her from himself was his only option.

XoXoXo

"Stefan!" She screamed as she ran as fast as she could after him. She knew it was Stefan as surely as she knew her name was Elena and that she had three kids. _His kids._

_Come back to me, Stefan,_ she thought and kept running, screaming his name until her throat hurt, begging him to come back. Come back to her and their family.

Her breath was ragged as she tried scaling a fallen tree in her way. She didn't make it, instead going down hard, her knees slamming into the ground and her hands not quick enough to stop her fall. She screamed in agony but mostly frustration. He was gone. Stefan was gone and her heart was breaking all over again.

She allowed herself to a quick sob before she was climbing to her feet and turning back to face the opening through the trees that would lead her back to the restaurant and her friends. She passed her would-be assailants and through teary eyes she saw them. All dead, all done-in in different ways. The blond drew her eyes in particular. His throat had been ripped clean out and blood stained the front of his shirt. He stared up at her with lifeless eyes that were frozen forever in an expression of fear and horror.

"How did Stefan do that?" She wondered aloud even as she shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. She hurried out of the woods and was practically accosted by Bonnie and Damon.

"Elena, where have you been? We've been looking everywhere for you!" Bonnie cried. Then she noticed Elena's torn, rumpled dress, the dirt that covered her body, the scrapes on her knees, the leaves in her hair, the expression on her face. "What the heck happened?"

"Three men," Elena gasped out over the lump in her throat. "Three men attacked me but Stefan … He saved me."

"Stefan?" Damon said, looking at her like she was three crayons short of a full coloring box. "That – well, you're upset. Of course you're going to see something that wasn't –"

"No, it _was_ Stefan," Elena interrupted him. "It was my husband. He saved me. He saved me from three monsters that were going to …" She couldn't say the vicious word.

Bonnie immediately pulled Elena to her, crushing her in her slim arms. "Damon, call the police," she said.

Elena looked back towards the woods but saw no movement there, saw no sign of _her_ Stefan. But she knew now that he was out there somehow, that he had saved her tonight… She was going to find him.

XoXoXo

Stefan was in now in full ripper mode as he ran out of the opposite end of the woods. He wanted more blood. _Human blood. _

He was going to give into his craving.

It was in his nature after all to hurt, to destroy, to kill.

_He went to look for another snack._

_**A/N: Hope that was an okay chapter. I am not too sure about it but I tried to write it as best as I could. Please, please let me know if it's any good lol Feedback is love.**_


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